Scenic cruise, Koblenz and Marksburg Castle

Crossing our fingers seemed to work - the weather looked like it would be nice for the cruise down to Koblenz and the visit to Marksburg Castle.

We went up and sat on the sun deck but, although it was sunny, it was a little cool.  The scenery however in this part of the Rhine was simply stunning.  The hills were covered in forests and vineyards with fairytale castles popping up wherever you looked.  The cruise director (Ryan) gave a running commentary on parts of the history of the area plus the castles, which was quite informative.

To keep us warm we made use of the tea/coffee station.  This is situated on the deck below the sundeck and you can serve yourself with tea/coffee/hot chocolate/water all day.  There are also sometimes cookies, biscuits or cakes here that you can also help yourself to.  The chocolate cookies were scrumptious!!

There are also towels up on the sundeck that you can take to lay on the sunbeds.  I don't know why I thought this, but before I came on this cruise I thought there would be a small pool on board,  but there isn't! There was a pool on the boat when we sailed on the Nile many years ago, so perhaps that's where I got the idea from but if, like me, you were expecting a pool on board, there isn't one!

Now, this is the bit where I can go daft and post loads of photos of this part of the Rhine!!  However, there is one quite famous part where there is a legend about the Lorelei, the beautiful siren of the rocks who lured sailors to their doom, but the rocks really aren't that picturesque, so I'm afraid no photos of them are included!!  I am not sure of the names of all the castles or places so will only name the ones that I do know.

Bacharach

Marksburg Castle

Marksburg Castle

We docked in Koblenz right underneath the cable car, and after lunch we were ready for our visit to Marksburg Castle (another included tour).  We boarded the buses as usual and I always have to marvel at how these bus drivers manage to manoeuvre their vehicles up winding roads such as our driver had to do to get us up the hill to the castle. They do warn you that if you're unfit or have mobility problems that you perhaps shouldn't do this tour. There are some inclines involved and some very uneven surfaces, so remember to wear a comfortable flat pair of shoes - high heels would not be a good idea here!  This is where I get to go daft again with loads of photos, so here goes:

Marksburg Castle

Marksburg Castle

Marksburg Castle

View from Marksburg Castle

View from Marksburg Castle (tilt shift effect)

View from Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

Interior of Marksburg Castle

After our visit here it was back to the coach to wind our way back down the hill to make our way back to the boat.  It was a fascinating visit but, like all organised tours, it was a tad short. By the time we got back to the boat it was almost time to leave again on the walking tour of Koblenz, and off we went again!  We thought this would be a good way to orientate ourselves for later as the boat was going to be docked n Koblenz until 4.00 a.m. the next morning, which was going to give us a chance to head into town again after dinner.  These are some photos that I took while on the walking tour:

View from the boat

This statue is enormous!

This is constructed from portions of the Berlin Wall

Part of the fountain that tells a story - it's really quite magnificent!

The other side of the fountain - well worth a visit

Dinner that night was more or less buffet style, with the carvery part being inside the actual kitchens!  After dinner we headed off into Koblenz for a walk and a couple of drinks at one of the bars.  We were back to the ship in plenty of time as it wasn't due to sail again until the early hours of the morning, heading for the next port of call, Cologne.

Heidelberg and Rudesheim

Our shore excursion this morning left at 8.30 a.m. and again was one included in our cruise holiday. We were heading from our mooring in Mannheim to travel to Heidelberg to visit the town and the castle.  The weather however wasn't too promising, so we made sure we had some waterproof jackets and an umbrella with us.

The plan was that while we were completing our visit here, the boat would sail to Gernsheim where we would rejoin it for the next part of the journey which was a sail down to Rudesheim.  In Rudesheim there was an option extra tour that evening which included a mini train ride and a traditional dinner and show.  We chose to stay on board that night for dinner as usual.

But, to get back to our morning tour, we were taken to Heidelberg Castle high above the town.  It was an impressive castle, partly in ruins, but with really good facilities for visitors. It also boasts that it has the biggest wine barrel in the world!! The weather held out quite well, but we did have a torrential downpour at one stage when we were luckily sheltering under a huge parasol umbrella!

Here are some photos of the visit.

You can see by the puddles that there had been a fair bit of rain!

Heidelberg Castle

Heidelberg Castle

Lion's head at Heidelberg Castle

Diorama (tilt shift) view from Heidelberg Castle

Diorama (tilt shift) view from Heidelberg Castle

This is a monkey!

There seems to be a big tradition in this part of the world that when a couple get engaged/married, they put their names onto a padlock, lock the padlock onto a bridge then throw the key into the water. This is the first example I have seen, but there's more to come in later photos!

Entrance to the bridge at Heidelberg

Now, during the free time part of our visit to Heidelberg, we done a spot of shopping! Do NOT miss the Christmas shop!!  It is one of the best that I have ever seen and, although it's obviously mostly Christmas items that are on sale, there are other things as well and it is just wonderful!

After our visit here, we headed to pick up the boat at Gernsheim for our onward journey to Rudesheim and, when we got back to the boat, we were met by the staff welcoming us back!

Staff welcome

After we re-joined the boat, we headed for lunch and, as the weather had really cheered up, we sat up on the sundeck and enjoyed a leisurely sail to Rudesheim.  We were to be docked here overnight so, after dinner, we took a short walk into town and had a couple of drinks in one of the local hotels.

Here are a few photos taken during the sail down to Rudesheim.

Unfortunately, I don't know what this building is, but it is certainly very impressive!

One of the many barges on the Rhine

Container barge

The Gullveig and the Ingvi moored together

When we moored up, one of the other Viking boats, the Viking Ingvi, moored right up beside us, which is something I touched upon earlier in the blog. This is entirely normal and is to be expected. Also, in Rudesheim, I have never ever seen so many swans in my life!

The boat was moored here overnight all set for the scenic part of the cruise which was to start in the morning. We would be sailing to Koblenz and had a tour to Marksburg Castle to look forward to.  It was fingers firmly crossed for good weather for this part of the cruise!!

Strasbourg, France

We had a little bit of a longer lie this morning as the tour for Strasbourg didn't leave the boat until 9 a.m. The boat actually moors in Kehl, Germany, and the coach takes you into Strasbourg where you are given the choice to then go back to the boat or stay in Strasbourg for the remainder of the day. If you do choose to go back to the boat for lunch though, there is a shuttle bus laid on to take you back to Strasbourg if you want to do that.  We chose to stay in Strasbourg all day.  There was also an optional extra tour today, which was an Alsace Wine Tour.

Strasbourg was very picturesque and, after we completed a walking tour with the guide, we decided to take a canal tour on one of the canal boats, which was really very good.  We also had lunch at a local cafe and we visited the Cathedral.

It was fun at lunchtime I have to say as the cafe we used was a small local one where the waitress didn't speak English and everything was written in French! We reckon it was the 'dish of the day'.

This is what we ordered ...

... and this is what arrived.  And very tasty it was too!!

Here are some photos of Strasbourg. I can certainly recommend just staying in town for lunch and a wander around, plus you can do some shopping here too!!

Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Strasbourg - the most photographed building in town!

Strasbourg

A small detail at Strasbourg Cathedral

One of the stained glass windows in Strasbourg Cathedral

Strasbourg Cathedral

Strasbourg

Strasbourg

All too soon our visit here ended and we made our way back to the coach for the short journey back to the boat. We were not in time, as usual, for any of the activities on board as we were getting ready for dinner, then we went to the fun music quiz night.  We really didn't have a hope of winning anything as a lot of the questions were to do with American music, however we did manage to score 13 out of 20 and we weren't last, so I think we done quite well!

We went back to our cabin fairly early that night and I done some hand washing.  There is a line in the shower that you can hang washing on, so that was one chore out of the way.  The boat does have a laundry service however, at more or less 2 Euros for each item of underwear, it was way better just to wash these things through myself!  The final game of the Football World Cup was being shown on TV so my husband was happy watching that while I got the washing done! Germany won the game and almost immediately we could hear people celebrating with the sounds of horns and fireworks outside on the riverbank.

We had been underway since 6.30 p.m. that evening and on our way to Mannheim where we'd be leaving in the morning at 8.30 a.m. to visit Heidelberg.

Breisach and the Black Forest

I hadn't slept well the previous night, not for any particular reason and nothing to do with the comfort of the cabin, probably just because it was my first night in a strange place!  I wasn't even hungry that morning and only had toast!!  However, that had still set me up for the first tour of the day - a bus trip into the Black Forest. This was one of the excursions included in our cruise package.  We had an optional extra one in the afternoon which was to Colmar, a quaint Alsatian town.

However, back to the Black Forest.  When we got to our destination in the woods, you could either go shopping or go with the guide for a short walk.  Not being one for the 'tourist' shopping kind of thing, my husband and I went for a walk through the woods up to a waterfall and back.  If you're thinking about doing the walk instead of shopping, it's not too strenuous, but the ground can be a bit rough and there are some inclines.  It's not suitable for wheelchairs or buggies, and you'd need to be wearing suitable footwear.

I think I had better start including some photos now, so here are a few to get us going:

We visited here and now I can't remember the name of the church - I think it was St. Martin's, but I'm not 100% sure!

Interior of the church - it was magnificent

View over the misty hills from the courtyard

Shopping area

Woods and waterfalls during our walk

Small house

Largest cuckoo clock in the world - apparently!

Our visit here was soon over and it was time head back to the coaches to be taken back to the boat, or is it a ship - I have no idea!! A word about the coaches while I remember - they are fabulous. Very clean and comfortable and all of them have on-board toilet facilities.

Once back to the boat, we had a safety drill.  Your lifejackets are kept under the beds in your cabin should you need them, and our drill went off without a hitch.  It was then lunchtime, and very nice it was too. You can choose to have lunch either in the restaurant or on the Aquavit Terrace for a buffet lunch.  We gave each of them a try and both were lovely, so do try both styles to see what you like best. Remember too that on this cruise, your drinks at lunch and at dinner are included in the price of your holiday.  You can choose from beer, wine or soft drinks.

It was off to Colmar next. Now, I had done some research here and was looking forward to seeing Colmar and the waterways there, but I was in for a big disappointment. When we got to Colmar the guide gave us the option of doing a walking tour, which we chose to do, and it was good, but we never saw any canal systems.  Well, it turns out that they are at least a 20 minute walk away from where the walking tour takes place, but it was my fault as I had never asked about it.  By the time the tour was finished, we didn't  have time to walk to the 'Little Venice' area and back again, so I was really very disappointed that I had missed my chance to see this area as it looks very picturesque if you look at photos on the internet. So, if you want to go to this area of Colmar, skip the walking tour and do it yourself so that you leave yourself plenty of time to get back to the meeting point for your coach back to the boat.

Meanwhile though, here are some photos of Colmar, which is a really lovely place to see.  It's well worth taking the optional tour to visit here.

Colmar

Colmar

Colmar

Of course, these are not the photos that I had hoped to have, but that can't be helped! I just wish I had asked about the 'Little Venice' area prior to the guided walk, so don't make the same mistake as I did! Anyway, we were taken back to the boat by coach and we got ready for dinner. This was the welcome dinner night but, don't worry about dressing up on this boat, you're not expected to wear a dicky bow and dinner suit here, unless you want to of course.  Smart but casual is the order of the day on every night, even on the welcome night.

I did find the timings of things to be a bit odd, because cocktail hour was normally 5.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and then the daily briefing took place at 7 p.m.  Well, that was usually when we were getting ready for our dinner, so we missed all of those events, although plenty of other people did find the time to attend - I really don't know how they done it!!  Perhaps they are more seasoned to cruising compared to us!! Anyway, dinner was lovely, as it always was, and then there was a concert that night in the lounge area by the Black Forest Voices, which was fairly entertaining.  However, don't expect entertainment on the scale of an ocean cruise - there's none of that on this boat. The only normal kind of entertainment was a chap who played piano and sang in the lounge.

That night we cast off at 11 p.m., the next stop being Strasbourg, France.